Category Archives: Reductionism

Dilbert on free will and determinism

Posted on January 28, 2012 by

Leave it to Dogbert to take things to their natural and logical conclusions. He’s good like that. And leave it to Dilbert to flounder. He’s also good like that. Link here.

Posted in Determinism, Free will, Humor, Materialism, Reductionism | 4 Comments

A rational argument for the existence of the soul

Posted on August 20, 2011 by

Has science ruled out the existence of the soul? Rabbi Adam Jacobs says no. In this discussion, many modern scientific thinkers have taken position that consciousness is an illusory faculty created by our neuronal activity. According to this position, our … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Reductionism, soul | 6 Comments

Atheist spirituality. Oxymoron or legit?

Posted on June 6, 2011 by

Big Questions Online recently spoke with Elaine Howard Ecklund, the author of Science vs. Religion: What Scientists Really Think, a book that has been getting a lot of attention as of late.  In the book, Ecklund, a sociologist, describes her … Continue reading →

Posted in Atheism, Materialism, Panentheism, Reductionism, science vs. religion | 5 Comments

A rough draft of videos illustrating science and religion models. Got others?

Posted on March 29, 2011 by

Tomorrow night we are going over models for the interaction of science and religion, using Barbour’s conflict, independence, dialogue, and integration models. I’ll probably also mention a few different typologies that have been put forth by others, but we’ll focus … Continue reading →

Posted in Accommodation, Education and mentoring, Evolution, Ian Barbour, Reductionism, science vs. religion, Scientist-Theologians | 2 Comments

Free will from the neuron’s point of view

Posted on March 22, 2011 by

I’ve read two interesting articles on free will in the past couple of days.  The first, in the New York Times, said that although we cannot be sure that we do have free will, it’s better for us to act … Continue reading →

Posted in Reductionism | 5 Comments

What does it all mean (I Think I Believe)

Posted on March 19, 2011 by

Arni Zachariassen of I Think I Believe has a wonderful post today entitled What does it all mean? So good I include it all here: Why do I find my daughter to be so darn cute? Why do I enjoy … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Human nature, Reductionism, Subjectivity | 2 Comments

Integration: it’s not just calculus and social science

Posted on March 17, 2011 by

We’ve been looking at Ian Barbour’s 4 models for the interaction of science and religion and will finish today by exploring the 4th and final model, integration. To help put some traction behind these models, we’ve used everyone’s favorite issue … Continue reading →

Posted in Accommodation, Evolution, Ian Barbour, Reductionism, science vs. religion, Scientist-Theologians | 2 Comments

Risk/reward of objectifying the personal

Posted on March 12, 2011 by

Can science address the personal? In studying the subjective objectively, have we reduced it beyond recognition? Two loosely related excerpts to ponder on this fine Saturday… one from philosophy, the other from biology. John Polkinghorne in Beyond Science: The Wider … Continue reading →

Posted in consciousness, Evolution, Human nature, John Polkinghorne, Methods of science, Mind, Philosophy of science, Reductionism, Scientist-Theologians, Subjectivity | Leave a comment

The dialogue model of science and religion

Posted on March 10, 2011 by

di·a·logue [dahy-uh-lawg] –noun 1. conversation between two or more persons. 2. the conversation between characters in a novel, drama, etc. 3. an exchange of ideas or opinions on a particular issue, especially a political or religious issue, with a view … Continue reading →

Posted in Accommodation, Evolution, Ian Barbour, Reductionism, science vs. religion, Scientist-Theologians | 3 Comments

The independence model of science and religion… the “enlightened” response to warfare

Posted on March 5, 2011 by

We’re looking at Ian Barbour’s 4 model typology for the interaction of science and religion and are using creation and evolution as our canvas. In our last post, we talked about the model of conflict, in which creation and evolution … Continue reading →

Posted in Accommodation, Evolution, Ian Barbour, Reductionism, science vs. religion, Scientist-Theologians | 4 Comments